A small but select band of L6s made their way to Long Sutton. Nine of us to be exact. We went out positive, aiming to do our best, enjoy the game and hopefully keep a fairly respectable scoreline. Following last week’s walkover ‘win’, we were excited to have a match, whatever the final result might be.

We overcame tractors, and misleading signposts for what was presumably Long Sutton’s old pitch, and arrived in time for a warm up. We practiced the various short corner routines that we’d worked on in training (cheers Tim!), although wondering whether we’d get to make use of them – we did!

Superstar Sally Phelps went in goal for us, ahead of her own match for the 3s. She was less busy than we’d anticipated, but made her trip worthwhile with a handful of key saves and blocks, which were vital given the final scoreline.

It was an outstanding team performance, full of energy and commitment, combined with sensible hockey to temper the 2-man disadvantage. The midfielders ran hard, needing to provide a little more support than normal to the defenders (as there were only two of them), and doing their best to support the forwards whilst ensuring our defence wouldn’t get outnumbered. Forwards Bex and Janette were working hard to drive the ball up the pitch, with strong support from attacking mid Liz. With less passing options than usual, it was tough, but they never gave up, and kept battling for the ball and putting decent pressure on the opposition D. As the half time whistle blew, we were awarded a short corner so everyone came up. Bizarrely the play continued after the ball left the D. After a moment’s confusion, we got it back in, only to be awarded another short, which again, we didn’t quite manage to convert.

Nil-nil at half time when you’re two players down is pretty good, and our spirits and confidence were high. We really can do this! Janette moved into defensive mid for a ‘rest’ for the second half, where she ended up having a busy game making lots of strong clearances and tackles. Lauren took her place up front, making some great drives, and was unlucky not to seal victory with a brilliant drive towards the D in the last couple of minutes.

To see us cheering at the final whilst you would think we’d won about 6-0. It certainly felt as satisfying, and if we can do this with only 9 players, just imagine what we could have done with 11 or more. It’s certainly a good sign that we can have a successful season.

Thank you also to our opponents and their umpires for a fun and enjoyable game played in friendly spirit.